Wednesday, February 3, 2010

GOBBLER'S KNOB, (Groundhog Day 2010) -- At 7:25 A.M. today, Punxsutawney Phil -- the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators -- emerged from his burrow at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Penn, and proclaimed, in his native Groundhogese, that MANNY "PacMan" PACQUIAO'S dominance over his era’s top fighters would continue with a successful defense of his World Boxing Organization welterweight title against former International Boxing Federation welterweight champion and current No. 1 contender Joshua Clottey on Saturday, March 13, at Jerry Jones’ Cowboys Stadium!

"It‘s five more weeks of training for Manny Pacquiao and four-time Trainer of the Year, World-Famous Freddie Roach," stated Phil as he shadowboxed during his annual news conference. "Manny is going to exit the ring the same way he entered it -- as world champion."

The world's most famous forecaster, wearing a Pacman headband and a T-shirt emblazoned with "100% PHILipino" on the front, went on to predict that Pacquiao would win his upcoming Congressional campaign in May.

"Manny is a modern day combination of Henry Armstrong and Theodore Roosevelt. As boxing’s only seven-division world champion, winning four different division titles in his last five fights, and all in a 21-month span, Manny speaks softly and carries a big fist. He's a Manny for all seasons! A three-time Fighter of the Year, the Boxing Writers Association of America’s Fighter of the Decade and a public servant – it’s the era of Mannyfist Destiny," exclaimed Phil.

When pressed for a definitive answer on whether Clottey had a chance to defeat Pacquiao, Phil astounded the media by answering in English.

Quoth the groundhog, "Nevermore."

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Promoted by Top Rank, in association with the Dallas Cowboys and Tecate, THE EVENT: Pacquiao vs. Clottey, World Welterweight Championship, will take place Saturday, March 13 and will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Remaining Tickets to THE EVENT: Pacquiao vs. Clottey, priced at $700, $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50, can be purchased in-person at the Cowboys Stadium box office in Arlington, or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.

THE EVENT: Pacquiao vs. Clottey pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Pacquiao vs. Clottey fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com or www.toprank.com .

Manny Pacquiao Profile

Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao born December 17, 1978, more commonly known as Manny Pacquiao, is a Filipino professional boxer.

He is currently the WBO World welterweight champion, Ring Magazine light welterweight champion, and is rated by Ring Magazine as the number 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

He is also the former WBC World lightweight champion, WBC World super featherweight champion, IBF World super bantamweight champion, and WBC World flyweight champion. Furthermore, he is the former Ring Magazine featherweight and super featherweight champion.

Joshua Clottey Profile

Joshua Clottey (born in March 16, 1976 in Accra, Ghana) is a Welterweight boxer who hails from Accra, Ghana, but now lives in the Bronx, New York. He is the former IBF Welterweight Champion.